The Rules on Creditor Harassment

The Rules on Creditor Harassment

August 16, 2018 10:00 am Published by Debt Free Life

When you are in debt, often the most stressful factor in terms of your daily life is not the actual sum you owe. Instead, it is the ever-growing pile of letters and the constant ringing from the phone.

We hear terrible stories every single day about the awful situations that people are being forced into. One client told us that she needed to rush home after she found out that her husband wouldn’t be going to his work so that she could be there for the postman and hide the letters.

This is not sustainable, but there is a way out. In this blog, we will outline precisely what creditors can and cannot do in their attempts to get their money back, as well as offering guidance on how you can make it all stop.

To speak to one of our advisers today, give us a call now on 0800 808 5124.

What Are the Rules Regarding Creditor Contact?

Firstly, it is important to point out that creditors do have every right to get in contact with you. When you owe them money, they need to try and get it back one way or another. Unfortunately, this usually involves seemingly daily letters and constant phone calls.

However, there are rules about what creditors can and can’t do in regards to contacting you. They are allowed to pressure you for money, but there are regulations in place to limit their ability to actually ‘harass’ you.

For example, if you have not given creditors your phone number for work or permission to contact you there, they are not allowed to contact you at work. Additionally, social media is also out of bounds.

Additionally, creditors cannot contact any of your family or colleagues. They cannot ask for details about your debt level, nor can they ask them to pay your debts.

There are strict guidelines about when creditors can call your phone. Their calls have to be within sociable hours, and they cannot call you in the very early morning nor late at night.

In addition, although there are no guidelines in regards to creditors being particularly kind or polite to you on the phone, they cannot try to intimidate you. Naturally, they cannot use abusive language.

If you tell the creditor that you do not have the money to pay them, legally they cannot ignore you. Additionally, they cannot suggest that you borrow more money to settle your debt with them.

Creditors must use simple language when outlining your situation. They cannot try to overwhelm you with complicated financial terms and phrases deliberately.

When you get in contact with us, they have to back off and give you some ‘breathing space’ as soon as they are made aware of the situation. Moreover, they are not allowed to ignore us for any reason.

Creditors have to be transparent when contacting you. They cannot pretend to have powers that they do not possess, and there are strict guidelines against disguising their correspondence as official court letters.

Occasionally, enough time will have passed that a creditor cannot legally pursue you for any more cash. At this stage, they must stop contacting you immediately.

If you enter into a dispute over a debt, then your creditors must stop phoning and sending letters.

Dealing with Loan Sharks

Loan sharks operate outside the law and as such have to follow none of the rules and regulations above. The fact is, that loan sharks are a police matter and only a police matter.

Loan sharks are nothing more than gangsters and they will threaten both you and your family and will do whatever necessary to recover their cash and significant interest.

If you are in debt to a loan shark call 101 and explain your situation. If the issue is an emergency, call 999 as soon as possible.

Put an End to Creditor Harassment

When the letters are piling up, and the phone won’t stop ringing, it might seem like your situation is never going to get better. With some firm action and professional support, you can turn your situation around.

At debt free life, we offer a number of formal debt solutions. These debt remedies are legally-binding, which means after they have been established your creditors need to follow specific rules and guidelines.

One of these rules makes it so that your creditors cannot legally contact you. They cannot send any letters, and they cannot call you. Instead, the creditors involved have to get in contact with us, your trustee, instead.

It is up to our company and your assigned advisers to decide what information is critical and what you need to know, which can be relayed to you on your annual review. We should add, however, that so long as you deliver your monthly sum, there should be very little that creditors actually have to inform you of.

In order to begin your journey towards a debt free life today, give us a call now on 0800 808 5124.

Alternatively, fill in our debt calculator, and one of our advisers will be in touch at a time which suits you.

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